Time Stands Still
by ComeComeParadise
Summary: IchiRuki. Based loosely on Taiwanese drama The Silence. Set 10 years after main storyline when Ichigo is 25. Our favorite couple find themselves falling in love all over again. They're IN character too!at least that's what i'd like to think! NO FLAMES!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! I'm CCP, and this is actually my first Bleach fanfic. XP I usually write Naruto fics. So yah. Go easy on me, and review lots, 'kay?

This fanfic is based loosely on the Taiwanese Drama **The Silence**, in terms of the romantic set-up. I don't plan on making this story a tragedy. It also takes place after the conflicts are solved…so I guess in a way it's AU…only it's not. I hope that makes sense. XP

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to me. I use it to wash my white colored clothes. I own many jugs of bleach at home. BUT! Ichigo, Rukia, Toshirou, and company belong to Tite Kubo-sama.

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If you watched **The Silence, **then I'll tell you one thing so you'll have an idea of where I'm taking the story. The following characters are based **loosely** on their The Silence character counter-parts:

Vic Zhou: Ichigo

Park Eun Hye: Rukia

Megan Lai: Orihime

Andy Hui: Renji…only I'll make Renji and Orihime less insane because that would make then incredibly OOC if I made then carbon copies of their character counter-parts…which would result in an angry mob chasing me around with pitchforks and flaming torches.

**Time Stands Still**

It was over. _All_ of it was over. To Ichigo Kurosaki, his first year of high school will most definitely be the most memorable year of his life…

…….

"_We're…nakama, right?"_

"…_yeah…"_

……..

He'll never forget the time when they first met. She walked in, and he mistook her for a burglar. Many things happened that night, and Ichigo experienced many firsts. It was his first time meeting a shinigami. It was his first time seeing such ridiculous looking drawings. It was his first encounter with a hollow…and it was also his first time protecting his family as a shinigami himself.

She stopped the rain, she changed his life, she gave him a _purpose_. She unlocked the door to the greatest adventure of his life that sent him from one world to another. She jump-started Ichigo's transformation from a high school punk who could see ghosts to one of the most powerful shinigami to have ever existed. So powerful, in fact, that he, along with some help from his comrades, managed to defeat Aizen. He owed it all to her. He owed her his _life_. She made it possible for him to fulfill his dream of protecting those around him…and yet, here she was, about to leave him. Again.

They were gathered in the park, and she had already finished saying her farewells to their friends. Orihime and Kon were sobbing in a corner (Nee-chan!!!), Chad smiled at her appreciatively, Ishida had just finished handing her a custom-designed dress (which was eerily reminiscent of his own quincy costume), and Urahara and company shouted their goodbyes. Ichigo purposely stayed behind and waited patiently for her to finish.

"So…you're really leaving…?"

His voice fell to a barely audible whisper, but she heard him.

"I can't help it. Soul Society is where I belong…"

Her voice was impassive, as if nothing happened at all.

But it was always hard for Ichigo to say goodbye. It was especially difficult whenever Rukia was the one he had to say goodbye to. There's a Japanese saying that Ichigo heard his friends saying on several occasions at school. "Shikata Ga Nai" _It cannot be helped._ "Shikata Ga Nai" _It must be done._ The orange-haired boy felt the corners of his lips tug into a sad, distant smile.

"Shikata Ga Nai…" he whispered. "Goodbye…"

Rukia's face, which was expressionless only moments ago, had twisted into one of disgust. Within the blink of an eye, Ichigo felt his chin being met with one of Rukia's small, but undoubtedly powerful fists.

"I've had just about enough of this emo act of yours! Don't tell me you've gone soft over the course of twenty-four Earth hours! Besides, it's not like I'll be gone forever! I'll be around—don't think you could get rid of me that easily!!!"

_It's just like her to get upset like this…_

"Whad'dya mean _emo_!!! Is this what I get after I try to say goodbye to you??? Do you USUALLY return kind gestures with a PUNCH!?"

"Kind, my BUTT!!! I don't want you to say goodbye to me unless you sound like yourself you PANSIE!!!"

He watched her as she stood before him panting and trying to cool off after her explosive outburst. Ichigo's scowl softened into a smile. _She hasn't changed a bit…_

"Thanks, Rukia."

The bunny-lover's face now bore question marks all over, but he continued speaking.

"…You know, for everything."

Rukia look of confusion was soon replaced with one of smugness.

"Fool. There's nothing to thank me for."

They stood there in silence, each trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Look…" Ichigo started, "I'm just…" He paused and scratched his head as he searched for the right words. "I'm glad I met you." The tall boy felt a weight lifted off his chest and ignored the slight warmth on his cheeks.

The shorter girl decided against poking fun at the boy standing in front of her, and instead, nodded silently in agreement.

"Likewise…Look, I have to go. Take care of yourself…and…I'm really gonna miss…" she stopped herself and paused. She had her pride on the line. But Ichigo just stood there and smiled.

"It's okay, I know." He said understandingly. Rukia felt her face crumple.

"I meant to say that I was going to miss drinking from juiceboxes!" she shouted. Ichigo responded with an equally loud shout.

"W-Well DUH! What did you think I meant?"

The two of them sighed simultaneously. They were dragging this out longer than they should, and Rukia really needed to go back to her home. In Soul Society. Where she belongs. Rukia held out her pinky in front of Ichigo.

"What's this?" he asked, clearly confused. The girl, however was clearly running low on patience.

"It's something that you _humans_ do when you're making promises." She stated matter-of-factly "Yuzu and Karin showed me...if I recall correctly, it's called 'the promise of pinkies' or something of the sort." She added.

"You mean a 'pinky promise'" Ichigo groaned. He was barely able to hide the tone of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, whatever. Look. Promise you'll never forget the events of this year…and also…promise me, on behalf of all of Soul Society that you will never mention any of this to _anyone_…" she whispered urgently "…I already warned your friends there…"She nodded in the general direction where everyone else was standing. "Kuchiki Rukia never existed in this world. It's a secret because humans are not supposed to know about me or anything that has to do with Soul Society...if you EVER, **EVER** utter a word about me, I'll personally whup your butt. Got it?"

Ichigo sighed and wrapped his pinky around her smaller one.

"Promise. Happy now?"

"…."

"Look, you'd better get going already. You need to go back before sunset, right?"

Rukia looked at the orange speck that was slowly sinking and nodded.

"One more thing…" She whispered as she pointed to the table and bench nearby. "Remember that bench?"

_How could I forget…?_

"That was the bench where I sat while I trained you to become a better shinigami." She stated. _More like it was the bench where you sat reading comic books while I trained my butt off…_ Ichigo silently corrected.

She held out both of her hands in front of his face, wiggling her fingers. "Ten years." She said. "We'll meet back here in ten years. During that time when people set fire on trees and when the bearded fatso performs an amazing shunpo all over this…_planet_…"

Ichigo paused for a moment, trying to make sense of Rukia's crazy-sounding suggestion. _Fire…trees…bearded fatso…_

"You mean Chistmas, 2007?"

"What is this Christmas 2007 of which you speak? I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I said—"

"—Yeah, I know what you mean. I get it already." Ichigo interrupted rudely.

Rukia growled and help up her pinky. Ichigo groaned loudly and wrapped his pinky around hers once more.

"There, happy?"

Rukia ignored him and walked away. If she didn't go soon, she'd be in trouble with her superiors back at soul society. Byakuya was waiting quietly to escort Rukia back home. It was time. She walked through the gates and turned back once more.

"Take care, everyone…Ichigo…"

The gates shut, and just like that she was gone. Her existence, once again erased from the planet.

……………………

Ichigo went home that night in a daze. He wasn't depressed, but he wasn't exactly elated, either. He just felt…nothing. Kon went home earlier with his sisters, so thankfully he wouldn't have to spend the night in the same room as the stuffed…bear…thing. What Ichigo really needed was to be alone. When he got back to his room, he half expected to find Rukia in his closet, and for the sake of old times, he opened the closet door to find it empty…only it was not. Just as he was about to close the door again, something white and rectangular caught his eye. Ichigo reopened the closet door and bent over to pick up a white envelope with a picture of a deformed-looking bunny on it. He didn't even have to read the small print on the bottom to find out who it was from.

The fifteen-year-old closed the closet door quietly and made his way over to his bed, where he collapsed, exhausted from the day's events. There, lying down on his bed, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

_Ichigo:_

_We should keep in touch through the telephone. Who knows if you can handle your human life by yourself? (I'd be surprised if you could.) I have my cell phone, so you can call me whenever hollows show up in your bedroom. (That doesn't mean I'd come, though. Ha!) See if you can figure out what my phone number is. (Look down, idiot.)_

To be real honest, Ichigo wasnt so sure if he _wanted _to look down, but he did, and saw what at first looked like a pathetic drawing. But upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was a bunch of "numbers" with bunny heads…drawn pathetically. The orange-haired teenager let out a sigh. _She's the idiot. It figures she'd waste her time drawing rather than writing a normal letter like a normal person…But then again, she was never really normal to begin with._ Ichigo tried to make sense of all the loops and bunny heads, but no matter how hard he banged his head on the wall trying to figure things out, the harder it became to discern all of the scribbles and markings. _The ones look like twos, the threes look like fours, the fives look like sixes, and the sevens look like eights…I can't even tell the difference between the numbers and the rabbit…things…_The boy opened his nightstand drawer and stuffed Rukia's letter in it. _I'll try to figure it out after I get some shut-eye_ he thought to himself. He never figured out Rukia's phone number.

Ichigo rolled over on his bed and tried to sleep. But after rolling around for ten more minutes, Ichigo still couldn't seem to fall asleep. He grabbed his clock. 1:57 AM it read. He had to be awake to get ready for school in about five hours. _RING! RING! RING!_ Ichigo sighed and sat up. He couldn't sleep and he had nothing better to do anyway. Might as well pick it up.

Ichigo was greeted by a familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Kurosaki-kun…?" There was a hint of doubt in the girl's voice.

"Yeah Inoue, it's me."

Ichigo heard his classmate let out a sigh of relief on the other side of the phone.

"Oh good, I'm glad it's you, Kurosaki-kun! You never gave me your phone number, so I asked Tatsuki-chan for it. For a second there I thought I had the wrong number!" Ichigo laughed softly to himself.

"Don't worry, it's me."

"Oh..."

The chestnut-haired beauty paused for a moment as her mind began to fully register who she was talking to and what time it was.

"Oh! Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun! I didn't realize…I mean…I know what time it is, but…"

"Relax," Ichigo said, "I couldn't sleep anyways."

Orihime's voice grew quiet.

"Actually, that's why I'm calling…. It's just so…_weird_ now that Kuchiki-san is gone…"

…_If you EVER, __**EVER**__ utter a word about me, I'll personally whup your butt. Got it?_

Ichigo's face fell. It wasn't like he was talking to a total stranger…it was just Orihime…Besides, wasnt her existence supposed to be wiped off from the face of the Earth ANYWAYS? Although he really wasn't in much of a mood to talk about Rukia at all…

"I know…" he started. "I'm still trying to get used to an empty closet…" _But that's old news…she was staying in my sisters' room before she left, not my closet…_

In an innocent and naive voice, Orihime asked,"That's weird, Kurosaki-kun. Don't you have clothes in your closet?" She had no idea about Rukia and Ichigo's former living arrangement.

Orihime paused for a moment, then blushed.

"I-I mean, not that I would _know_, Kurosaki-kun! I-I'm really not like that!"

Orihime was thankful that Ichigo couldn't see her blushing. He'd have thought she looked silly!

"L-Look, Kurosaki-kun…I'm sorry I woke you up. We still have school tomorrow!"

_School…_Ichigo thought, as he glanced towards his empty closet. _Right…I'm going to school tomorrow…and I won't have to worry about bringing extra food up here._

"Hey Inoue…?"

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo rolled over once more and stared at his ceiling.

"We have a test tomorrow, right?"

"…Mmmm….Right! It's on Japanese Classics."

Ichigo smiled. "Right. Thanks, Inoue."

"You're welcome, Kurosaki-kun! Bye!"

"Later."

Ichigo hung up his phone and rolled over once more. Within minutes, he went to sleep.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Life went on like normal after Rukia left. Ichigo kept going to school, Ishida kept sewing, and Kon kept chasing after girls with large gazongas. Life was as it should be…Well, stuffed animals shouldn't be chasing buxom girls, but Kon is Kon…!

One year passed…then three…eventually, Ichigo graduated from Katakura High school and moved on to Tokyo University (or Toudai…whatever. XP). He never managed to figure out Rukia's cellphone number, but he always kept her letter with him—even after moving out of his house and getting into Toudai. Every once in a while, Ichigo would go shinigami and fight hollows whenever they showed up, but other than that his life as a shinigami was a thing of the past. Despite that, however, his memories, and Rukia's letter remained close to him. As odd as it may have seemed, Ichigo's days as a full-time shinigami were some of the happiest days of his life. But ever since Urahara had taught him how to cover up his enourmous spiritual pressure, not many hollows showed up. Ichigo was pretty much just an average person...who could see and talk to ghosts...

Of all the members of the original Hollow-fighting, rescue-mission group, Ichigo, Orihime and Ishida ended up going to Toudai together. Chad chose to not attend university. Instead, he entered the law-force as a police officer. Given Sado's incredible sense of justice, (not to mention his incredible strength), the job suited him well. Urahara continued to run his shop, and decided to also start selling pizza, among his other goods, in an effort to earn enough money for the rent.

Ichigo never really heard much from Rukia ever since the day they parted ways. There were times when he'd catch a glimpse of her chasing after a Hollow, but he'd never chased after her. Was it because he was a coward? Was it because he was too stupid? He honestly didn't know. It was just the way things _were._ There was also this one time during Ichigo's third year of high school that he was dropping by Ishida's hospital to visit Ishida (he had accidentally slammed a taxi cab's car door on his 'sewing hand'). It was there that he saw a man with tattoos and red hair carrying a bleeding girl with black hair. Ichigo wasn't even sure if it was Rukia and Renji, but when he followed them into the separate hallway, he was stopped by hospital personnel. "Only authorized employees are allowed past this point." The man had said.

He and Inoue started going out during their freshman year at Toudai. She had confessed her feelings (again) to him, after making sure that he wasn't sleeping. Ichigo was okay with the girl, and enjoyed hanging out with her. Plus it didn't hurt that Orihime was the most desirable female on the entire campus. He agreed to go out with her after thinking it over for about a week. Eventually, after graduating from Toudai, they became engaged.

Ichigo decided not to take over the family clinic. He had considered a job in the law-force before finally deciding on becoming a lawyer. Being a lawyer suited Ichigo just fine.

He thought about the petite shinigami several times, but it had all happened so long ago. _He_ may have remembered her after all the years, but did _she?_

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_Fast forward ten years after Rukia said goodbye to Ichigo. Ichigo is now 25 years old, and he runs a successful law firm in Tokyo. (Believe it or not.) -__-just ignore the fact that it takes a lot more time for one to become a successful lawyer. Work with me here! _

Ichigo is taller now, and his facial features are more refined. His hair is slightly longer than it was when he was fifteen. He has traded his t-shirts and jeans for crisp business suits. His hair has turned slightly darker than its original shade of orange. He's also loaded...with money!

……………

"Kuchiki?"

"Yes, sir?"

Ten years had passed, and Rukia had been promoted to Lieutenant of the thirteenth company. (Lieutenant is the same and Assistant Captain, right?) Captain Ukitake finally had a Lieutenant. All was well, and things were about to get a whole lot better.

It was a bright and sunny day in Soul Society, much to Rukia's delight. She had been summoned by her captain five minutes ago, and was now in his office waiting for him to explain why he had summoned her.

"I understand that you have been to the human world several times in the past…"

Rukia nodded respectfully. "Yes sir."

Ukitake rubbed his chin in thought.

"Kamiya-san from the eighth company had been monitoring the Hollows in the place humans call 'Tokyo'. However, he is being reassigned to a different task, and he lacks the knowledge that you possess on humans. And on top of that…" The white-haired one paused, "There are quite a bit of hollows that show up in this area. I feel that someone of at least your caliber should be sent for the job…"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and one more thing, Kuchiki."

"Sir?"

Ukitake smiled.

"I wouldn't want my lieutenant to be in a hollow-infested area all by her lonesome," he chuckled. "Lieutenant Abarai will be joining you."

"B-but captain! I'm sure that I could handle this on my own—"

"—Who do you think you're trying to fool?"

Rukia whipped her head around only to be met face to face with her longtime friend Renji. Rukia snorted.

"I'm not trying to fool anyone! I for one know that I am perfectly capable of handling a bunch of Hollows. That's sissy-stuff. I should be asking you who _you're_ trying to fool. As if _you_ could help me. You'd only get in my way!"

"Just because you were _lucky_ and got promoted doesn't mean squat you hear me you midget!"

"Who're you calling a—"

_EHEM._

The two lieutenants stopped their bickering and bowed in apology to the captain. The good-natured Ukitake couldn't help but smile.

"Run along now. Those Hollows aren't going to get rid of themselves, you know."

"Yes Sir!"

………………

Contrary to popular belief, Shinigamis _did_ age—the thing is, they age _slower_. Over the course of ten years, Rukia grew taller and looked less like a twelve-year-old, and more like an eighteen-year-old. Her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail—it had grown a little longer over the years and did nothing but get in her way. Rukia never found the time to get a decent haircut, so she resorted to pulling it back. Her signature bangs had grown as well, and now framed her sharper, and more mature-looking face. (they're still side-swept, though.) Her body had developed from one of a preteen to that of a mature teenager. In short, Rukia had gone from cute to kinda hot over the course of ten years.

Renji had changed less than Rukia over the years. He had kept his same, original hairstyle. His eyebrows, however, looked funkier than they were before, and his body had gotten more buff, but other than that, Renji still looked like Renji. XP

………………..

It was a matter of minutes before Renji and Rukia had arrived in Tokyo. They had gotten a call from Kamiya-san, who gave them the directions to his apartment. When they finally arrived, (they had bickered and fought for half an hour after getting lost), they were pleasantly surprised. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, one kitchen, and one living room. It was modest, but it was perfect.

"Here's some human money that I earned. It should be enough to pay for this month's and next month's rent. But after that, you guys are on your own." The shinigami said.

Kamiya was (only) 200 years old—young-looking enough to pass as a 20-year old. He had light brown hair and green eyes.

"I'd suggest that you guys find yourselves some jobs so you can keep on living here. Who knows how long you'll be assigned to work here?"

_Jobs…? No Comprende Senor. _

"What do you mean jobs?" Rukia asked, "Isn't our job supposed to be to eliminate Hollows?"

Kamiya leaned against the wall and took a sip of some sake that he had swiped from some drunk guys the night before.

"Yah, but unless you guys want to be living out in the streets, you're gonna have to find some human jobs so you can keep living here and have food to eat."

Renji groaned. "Can't we just steal some food and water from the markets? That's how Rukia and I used to get by—"

"This is different." Kamiya snapped. He was running low on patience and it showed. "Here in the human world, the humans have _rules_, you know, kind of like in Soul Society?" Kamiya spoke slowly as if he were speaking to a five year old. "You can't steal to make a living. You have to find a job."

Kamiya then paused and gave Renji a once-over.

"…And if you want to get a decent job, I'd suggest you remove your tattoos and cut your hair. No person here in this place would hire you after taking a good look at you. They'd think you were a yakuza or something."

Renji paused and ran his fingers through his ponytail.

"Cut…my hair…?"

Rukia chuckled. "I don't know, maybe you should listen to Kamiya-san, Renji. Besides, nothing you do could possibly make you look weirder than you do now!"

"But—"_I like my hair! And my tattoos!!!_

"Later."

Before Renji could finish asking his question, Kamiya had disappeared and left, leaving him and Rukia alone to fend for themselves.

"I was gonna ask how we're supposed to find a job…" he muttered.

"It's too bad you can't stay at Urahara's…_freeloader_…" Rukia joked.

Renji rolled his eyes. "…And it's too bad you can't sleep in ol'strawberry's closet."

Rukia grew silent and walked around the small living room in the apartment. Renji, mindful of the fact that he had touched a sore subject spoke quietly to Rukia.

"He never called, did he...?"

Rukia ignored Renji's question and changed the subject.

"…At least Captain Ukitake had the sense to give us a gigai before sending us to this world. That would at least save us the problem of finding a shop that sells gigai."

Renji amiled, then nodded. "Hey Rukia," he spoke, "I'm gonna go ahead and try to find one of those jobs. When I come back, I expect you to be looking for one too."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "When you come back, I expect you to have your hair cut and tattoos removed." she retorted.

"That costs money, idiot."

The two shinigami stuck their tongues out at each other and parted. Renji left to find a job and the nearest hair-salon, and Rukia stayed behind for a little while to be alone.

She walked around the living room some more and stared out the window. She had studied a map of Tokyo prior to leaving with Renji in an attempt to familiarize herself with the city where she would be staying the next few months. Katakura Town wasn't far from Tokyo…

She studied the human calendar that Kamiya had left behind. According to the calendar, it was March 25, 2007. Rukia smiled as she remembered what she had said ten years ago back by the park bench. She made the orange-haired hotshot promise her that they'd meet there again Christmas 2007. After asking Ukitake when Christmas was, she had learned that it was the twenty-fifth of December. _Exactly nine months from now…_Silently, the (slightly) petite shinigami (she grew but she's still kinda short) wondered if her former comrade remembered his promise. It had been so long ago, and he never called her…Suddenly, as if on cue, her cell phone began to buzz. Rukia whipped out the cell phone, only to let out a long, disappointed sigh. It was a Hollow warning, plus or Minus fifteen minutes from noon near Shibuya Train Station. Thankful that she wasn't in her gigai at the moment, Rukia stepped through the glass window and made her way towards the crowded train station. On her way, she silently reprimanded herself for selfishly thinking of herself and forgetting about her duty. She had a job to do. That's why she was there.

……………….

Thankfully, the Hollow that appeared was child's play, and Rukia made quick work of it. _Now to find me one of those jobs…_Remembering that her gigai was still in her and Renji's apartment, Rukia dashed off in that direction.

…………..

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

**ComeComeParadise Corner:**

**Hey everyone! As of now my Naruto fanfic ****My Promise to You ****is on hiatus. (dodges the millions of kunai thrown at her) Honestly speaking, though…I think I've sorta lost interest in Naruto. Seriously. (Runs away from angry mob of readers)**

**Hmmm…people that know me know that I usually stick my author's notes in the middle of the story in order to make sure that everyone reads what I have to say…but I'm not sure if I'll have to do that to, so I'm gonna test all the people reading my fic. So to everyone reading my author's note right now—please be sure to include the words "Toshirou Hitsugaya-kun is the smex" XD **

**Hmmm…that was a pretty long first chapter…but it wasn't the best, I'll be the first to admit that. XP Please go easy on me everyone! REVIEW! NO FLAMES!!!**


	2. Ichigo and Rukia: On the Job

**CCP here! Yup, I was pleasantly surprised by most of my reviews…(even though I wouldn't have minded a tad bit more! XD) I did get one flame, but I take that as something to learn from, not something to get upset over. So thank you to all that bothered to read and review! I apologize with the long wait, but that's just how I roll! XP**

……………………………

**LAST TIME:**

_Rukia stepped through the glass window and made her way towards the crowded train station. On her way, she silently reprimanded herself for selfishly thinking of herself and forgetting about her duty. She had a job to do. That's why she was there. _

_Thankfully, the Hollow that appeared was child's play, and Rukia made quick work of it. Now to find me one of those jobs…Remembering that her gigai was still in her and Renji's apartment, Rukia dashed off in that direction._

…………

_**We'll do it all   
Everything  
On our own**_

We don't need  
Anything  
Or anyone

If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know  
How to say  
How I feel

Those three words  
Are said too much   
They're not enough

……………__

**(I'll give a cookie to whoever guesses the above song right!)**

……………

Ichigo Kurosaki sat back in the plush leather seats of his Mercedes Benz and tried to relax as his driver turned the corner of Yokomachi Street. He had recently been transferred from the law firm in Katakura Town to work in Tokyo.

"U-u-uhhh…s-sir..?" the driver ventured timidly. Ichigo grunted roughly in response.

The driver readjusted his hat for the fiftieth time since he started driving and gulped loudly.

"I-It's j-j-j-just that…w-well, you see….The Tokyo Lawfirm i-is about f-fifteen miles, away…and you're due to arrive in a-about f-five minutes..." The man behind the wheel paused to readjust the rearview mirror. "I-It's j-just that…w-well…"

"What is your point, Hajime?" By now, Ichigo had reached the limits of his patience. The copper-haired man glared at his driver's reflection in the rearview mirror. (Remember, Ichigo's hair color changed)

"I-I'm a-f-fraid that you might be just a t-tad bit l-late, sir."

Ichigo glanced down at his Rolex. It was seven fifty-five. He was due at the office in exactly five minutes. Arriving at the firm on time was one thing, but one still needs to take into account the amount of time it takes to park and unload one's books and materials. The twenty-five year old let out a sigh as he re-adjusted his tie.

"Hajime."

The trembling driver cleared his throat before replying.

"Y-yes?"

Ichigo put on his seatbelt and adjusted his posture.

"I don't care what it takes. You are going to get me to my office on time."

"B-but Sir! I-I can't—"

"I also don't want us to get pulled over. As soon as that happens, I'll be late. And I think we _both_ know that I can't be tardy. If I am even a _fraction_ of a second behind, then you can start looking for another job. It is _your_ job to get me to the firm on time. If you can't even get_ that_ done, then I'm honestly not sure _why_ you're working for me."

"S-Sir, y-you don't understand…I _need_ this job!"

"Then I'd suggest that you stop talking and start driving"

The driver let out a miserable sigh of defeat.

"…Yes sir…."

Ichigo rest his head on his hand and watched the driver apprehensively drive as if his life depended on it. _Was I maybe too hard on him…?_ The copper-haired man closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the leather seats of his car.

Hiro Hajime was Ichigo's 48-year-old driver. He had black hair that was starting to grey along the sides of his head. Hajime was accident-prone, and constantly stuttering. He is the father of three children, one of whom is enrolled in law school. Currently, Hajime-san is driving like a madman. He had three more minutes and five miles to go. It's amazing what a man can do with the proper motivation.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was sitting in the back seat thinking to himself.

…

_**We'll do it all   
Everything  
On our own **_

_**  
**_

The former shinigami inhaled and exhaled deeply. It had been ten years since Rukia left. It was a matter of months before he and Rukia would meet up again back at Katakura Town…

_That is …if she remembers…_

Ichigo paused for a moment and then smiled. Rukia wasn't the type of person to forget something like that. Never was, and never will be. Ichigo silently reprimanded himself for even suggesting that as a possibility.

_Christmas 2007…I wonder what that day will be like…?_

The lawyer glanced down at his blackberry and saw that he had December 25, 2007 marked down on his calendar.

"S-Sir…?"

Hajime's voice snapped Ichigo out of his reverie.

"We're here with a minute to spare."

The copper-haired man stayed seated and cleared his throat. The driver, finally realizing his mistake, blushed a deep crimson as he dashed out of the car and opened the door for Ichigo. As Kurosaki-kun stepped out of his car, he glanced at his driver coolly.

"Make that _forty-five_ seconds to spare."

As Ichigo made his way to his new office, his new secretary handed him the newspaper.

"Congratulations, Usagi-san!"

The lawyer glanced at the headline. "Usagi-san wins yet another case! Whitney Spears and Fed-Ex case finally comes to close!"

Ichigo was a lawyer that was good at what he did. He had earned the nickname "Usagi-san" because of his speed when it came to law-cases. Not only was he good at winning cases; He was fast, too. In fact, Ichigo's skill and speed at dealing with law cases has launched him to near celebrity-status. Everyone, except for Ichigo's driver, close friends, and family, called Ichigo "Usagi-san".

While one may think that Ichigo resented being called 'Usagi-san', which is partially true, Ichigo had come to terms with his new nickname. After being called 'Strawberry' his entire life, Ichigo was used to cute nicknames, and truth be told, he considered 'Usagi-san' to be a step up from 'Strawberry.'

Usagi-san decided to stop by the meeting room on his way to his office. There was a meeting in progress, but as soon as Ichigo stepped foot into the room, everyone fell silent. The man conducting the meeting nervously stood up and bowed.

"G-Good Morning, Usagi-san."

But Ichigo breezed right past him as if he didn't exist. The copper-haired man stopped by the window and ran his finger along the sill. He grimaced when he found a fine layer of dust on his finger after he picked it up.

"When was the last time this place was cleaned?" He demanded. To his disgust, everyone remained silent. Ichigo smirked as he walked around the room to continue evaluating the cleanliness of it.

"All right then…" He stopped walking before facing his secretary. "Fire everyone on the cleaning crew, and hire a more capable bunch."

The man who had been conducting the meeting prior to Ichigo's arrival walked over and began to protest.

"B-but Usagi-san! I'm sure that if you only give the cleaning crew a warning, that it wouldn't happen again!"

Ichigo cocked a finely arched eyebrow at the man.

"And…? If they slack off once, what makes you think they won't slack off again? I think you've forgotten that I'm the one in charge, and that I'm the boss here."

The whole room, including the man fell silent. Ichigo continued pacing the room.

"Let me just make one thing clear," He began, "I don't know how things were done prior to my arrival, and truthfully, I really don't care. The past is over, and all that matters now is what we have here before us. Workers are to clock in on time or earlier. Time lost is money lost, understand?"

Everyone nodded silently, for fear of what may happen if they had done otherwise. Satisfied with his response, Ichigo continued speaking.

"Here at the Tokyo Law Firm, I expect nothing but the best. If the rooms aren't as clean as they could be, then I'll fire the cleaners. If I find typos in any of our files, then I'll fire the secretaries. And if a lawyer loses more than one case…I'll fire the lawyer."

Ichigo watched as everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Starting today, I'm going to be ridding this law firm of dead weight. I'll be reviewing your files and calling everyone into my office. Everyone I call will be given either a warning or the boot."

………………………………

Ichigo sat down by his computer and started to download the files that his boss had sent him. He had already fired about twenty people (not including the cleaning crew.) He glanced over at a picture of him, Sado, Ishida, Kon, and Inoue. It was taken a year ago at a fancy restaurant. They had been celebrating Ishida's birthday. Usagi-san let out a sigh. _Ten years later, and we've all changed so much…_ Usagi-san opened his desk drawer and pulled out Rukia's letter. He sometimes wondered why he bothered to keep it after all this time. The copper-haired man got up and walked over to his bookcase to take out one of his lawbooks. _I wonder how much Rukia has changed…? She probably wouldn't recognize me if she saw me now…_I've_ changed so much…_

The fast-working lawyer was soon back at his desk. But before he could get much work done, an instant message popped onto his screen.

…

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **Kurosaki-kun!!!

…

Ichigo let out a sigh. He, like pretty much everyone else who had chatted with Inoue, was still confused about her choice of a screen name. When asked about the thought process behind her screen name, the chestnut-haired beauty simply replied that, "I named it after my favorite food! It's quite tasty, actually! It tastes even better when you melt marshmallows over it!" Yum. All that Ichigo wanted to do was finish his work, but chatting was Inoue was a welcomed break.

…

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **Kurosaki-kun!!!

**Usagisan has signed on**

**Usagisan15:** Hey.

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **Oh, I wasn't sure if you were there…Am I catching you at a bad time?

…

Ichigo let himself smile a little.

…

**Usagisan15: **Don't worry about it. What's going on?

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **My boss is being mean to me today. We were supposed to write an article about the future of Tokyo…

**Usagisan15:** Did you write it?

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **Yes…I wrote about how Tokyo will have massive space towers, and how humans will be transported by hover crafts to and from work…I put so much effort into it too…but then my boss just yelled at me.

…

Ichigo let out a soft chuckle. That sounded just like something Inoue would do. It was so like her.

…

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **So…it's up to you to cheer me up…can you…

…

On the other side of the computer, Inoue was blushing like mad. Tatsuki had been telling her ever since she knew about her feelings for Ichigo that Inoue needed to be more aggressive. At the moment, while she was IM-ing with Ichigo, Orihime was texting her best friend Tatsuki about her unfortunate run-in with her boss. Within seconds, Arisawa-chan had texted back her response:

"Tell Ichigo that as your boyfriend, it is his job to cheer you up. Then ask him to treat you out for lunch or dinner."

The top-heavy woman groaned miserably. Her? Ask Kurosaki-kun out to dinner? But…wouldn't that be a date? Yes, I believe it would be. But isn't he supposed to be your boyfriend?

It wasn't like her to do something like that. But….the prospect of eating dinner with her Kurosaki-kun seemed too good to pass up. Believe me, we all feel the same way.

…

**Usagisan15:** Can I what?

**Usagisan15: **Inoue…?

…

Inoue felt her cheeks heat up instantly. She shut her eyes tight as she typed her response; she couldn't stand to see what Ichigo's response would be—that'd be too much for her to handle!

…

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **Would you like to have dinner with me tonight to…cheer me up…?

…

Awwww.

Ichigo stared at the computer screen in front of him. Did Inoue _really_ just type that? Dinner with Inoue…According to the planner on his palm pilot, Ichigo had a meeting that didn't end until seven thirty.

…

**Usagisan15: **Melting Pot. Eight-o-clock?

…

Orihime let out a sigh. She wasn't too fond of eating dinner so late, and she wasn't too crazy about the restaurant choice. Still, if it was dinner with Kurosaki-kun, then it was all worth it.

…

**BananaLeekSurprise101: **Okay, Kurosaki-kun…

……………………………………………………………………………………………

After getting into her gigai, Kuchiki Rukia realized that finding a job was a lot harder than she thought. A few minutes after she had left the apartment, a hell butterfly had delivered an authentic-looking fake ID for Rukia. (I don't know if they use ID's in Japan or if they need ID's in order to book jobs. Let's all just assume that they do. XP)

While it clearly was a picture of her on the ID, the first thing that caught Rukia's eye was that whoever made the card had misspelled her name. The Shinigami groaned miserably to herself. Apparently in the human world, she was now to be called Kuwabara Ruki. Upon closer inspection, the black-haired lieutenant noticed that according to the card, she was reduced from a 160 year old to a 23 year old. As much as Rukia cherished her time on Earth in the past, she couldn't help but hate it now. Within a matter of minutes, Rukia was given a new name, a new age, and a new identity, all because of a stupid piece of plastic that all humans use and need in order to make a living. It frustrated her that an inanimate object held so much power over such complex beings.

As she walked by the shops on Ocean Avenue, the petite shinigami noticed her reflection in the shop windows. Suddenly, she couldn't help but feel a tad bit nostalgic. Her temporary body no longer sported the short haircut she had ten years ago. Rukia's hair was longer and pulled into a ponytail. Her bangs were now swept to the side in order to keep them out of her way. And instead of wearing one of Yuzu's outfits, Rukia's new gigai was dressed in a white knee-length skirt, a turquoise-colored camisole, and pink colored flats. The outfit was too girly for the shinigami's liking, but it was easy to maneuver in.

"Kuwabara Ruki" stopped outside a tattoo parlor with a "help-wanted" sign on it. Before he left, Kamiya-san explained that you usually find jobs in either the newspaper or places with "help wanted" signs. It looked like the tattoo parlor was offering jobs. Delighted that she had finally found a place offering a job, the young soul reaper, remembering her human manners, skipped cheerfully into the tattoo parlor. One should know that Kuwabara Ruki didn't know a thing about tattoos. One should also keep in mind that the only tattoos that Kuwabara Ruki knew about were the ones on Renji's body…and even _those_, in her mind, were shrouded in mystery.

…………

_In the tattoo parlor…_

A few of the guys working in the parlor let out low whistles when they saw Rukia walk into the store. Judging by the looks of her, many of them easily concluded that either

it was her first time getting a tattoo …OR

She was extremely lost.

Nonetheless, many of the clients and employees happily welcomed the new piece of eye candy.

"May I help you…?" A gruff voice asked. It belonged to one of the employees.

Kuwabara Ruki examined the big man's name tag and smiled graciously as she gave him her most charming curtsy.

"Well certainly…Fred-san…I saw the help wanted sign outside, so I would like to take the job."

Fred-san cocked one of his bushy eyebrows in confusion.

"Look here, girly…are you sure you're in the right place…? You DO know that this is a tattoo parlor, don't ya?"

The raven-haired beauty kept her smile plastered onto her face.

"Why, yes of course. Is it too much trouble to speak with your boss? I'd like to speak to him about the job, if you'd be so kind!"

Fred-san, seeing that the girl in front of him wasn't going to leave anytime soon rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Sure…why not? He's in the room down this hallway. It's the only door on your right."

Ruki took this as yet another opportunity to showcase her superior knowledge of human manners.

"Thank you, kind sir!" She gushed, as she curtsied. Within seconds she was skipping into the room that the man had shown her.

Fred-san couldn't help but watch Ruki as she skipped away. He let out a long sigh.

"She's a strange one, that girl."

One of the men who were working with a client nodded in agreement. "Yah, but she sure is a looker."

…

_**In the tattoo parlor office…..**_

Rukia had been feeling pretty confident about her knowledge of human etiquette…until now. The boss of the Tattoo parlor was at least _twice_ the size of Fred-san, and had at least _twice_ the amount of tattoos that Renji had. Through the eyes of a skinny, five-foot (she grew taller) shinigami, the boss looked like a massive mountain of human flesh covered with ink. Of course, _because_ Rukia was a shinigami, such a massive creature was nothing out of the ordinary—Hollows were probably about the same size, if not slightly larger.

The giant of a man wore a nametag that said "Hello. My Name is PAUL." Within seconds, he was conducting the interview.

"Name?"

Rukia was slightly taken aback at how surprisingly high-pitched the boss's voice was.

"Kuchi—I mean…Kuwabara Ruki." The black-haired shinigami silently cursed the person behind the typo on her ID. At this, she handed the big man her ID. He scanned it carefully and returned it to her.

"Do you have any experience in the field of tattoo-ing?"

Rukia paused for a moment.

"Why yes, kind gentleman! My _friend_ has a bunch of them!"

"Do you have a college education?"

"What is this 'college' that you speak of? I apologize—I am not familiar with that term…"

"What can you contribute to this our store?"

Rukia pondered on the question. After giving it much thought, she replied with a confident smile.

"Well, sir, I am quite an accomplished artist…while I am not too familiar with the process of tattoo-ing, I can learn!"

The big boss man gave Rukia's response some thought.

"I've always wanted a tattoo of a were-rabbit on my cheek. I'll evaluate you based on how good a job you do on my tattoo…how does that sound?" Uh-oh.

"Wonderful!" Ruki exclaimed, "Personally, I feel as though rabbits are my forte." Oh dear…

That explains all of the boss's tattoos…

…………………………

_**Two hours later…**_

Kuwabara Ruki walked out of the tattoo parlor with her head down. She was personally proud of the fact that she was capable of tattoo-ing perfectly on her first shot…unfortunately, she wasn't sent away because of her tattoo-ing skills, but because of her artistry. The raven-haired beauty let out a long, depressing sigh. How on earth was she supposed to find a job if no one wanted to hire her?

_Growl…_

The shinigami miserably clutched her growling stomach. She hadn't eaten anything since six in the morning. Ruki dug in her pockets and fished out her chappy the bunny coin purse. She still had about 700 yen (approximately seven dollars) from her last visit into the human world. Remembering that the money in her coin purse was the only money she had for food, Ruki couldn't help but let out another sigh. _But what if we need this money later on…?_

That was…until she smelled the most heavenly scent known to man: Ramen steam from a nearby ramen cart. The petite shinigami felt her mouth begin to water. _I'm not going to spend my food funds…I need to find a job first…_But the heavenly aroma was practically calling to her. "Rukiaaaa…Ruuuukiaaaa…." The soul reaper tried shaking the thoughts of food out of her mind, but to no avail. Sensing that her will power was beginning to wane, Rukia slowly made her way over to the ramen cart. _I'm not buying ramen…_she thought to herself, _I'll just…ask the man in charge of the cart where I can find a job...!_

Kuwabara Ruki strode towards the ramen cart purposefully. She was a shinigami on a mission, and she wasn't about to let her own hunger interfere with her duties. Remembering her manners, Ruki curtsied in front of the ramen cart owner.

"Excuse me, kind sir?"

The ramen cart owner was a bald, elderly man with a long, grey beard. He was senile, but his ramen was a local favorite. When he saw Rukia approaching his ramen stand, his experienced eyes automatically pegged her as a foreigner.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

Kuwabara Ruki flashed the ramen man her most charming smile.

"If you could be so kind…do you know where I can find a job?"

The old man rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid I've forgotten…" The ramen man smiled as Rukia's cheerful face slowly crumpled into one of depression. "But I might remember if you buy a bowl of ramen!!!"

What a deal! In the mind of Kuwabara Ruki, this seemed like the best possible deal: Eat food AND find information about locating a job! That was, _assuming_ that the old man remembers where she could find a job…

"Okay!" She replied excitedly.

…………………

Ichigo stretched his arms above his head as he yawned sleepily. He had been working non-stop ever since his chat with Inoue. The copper-haired man glanced at the clock across the room. It was two fifteen. _Might as well grab a quick bite to eat…_

Usagi-san grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and made his way outside. The lawyer let out a sigh of relief. It seemed so…refreshing to finally be out of the office. Across the street from where Ichigo was standing was a ramen cart. Because he didn't really feel like exploring the entire area, Usagi-san made his way over to the ramen cart where the owner, an old man with a long grey beard, was conning a petite black-haired girl into buying his ramen.

…………………………**.TO BE CONTINUED! What's going to happen next? Most likely it's not what you think! **

**ComeComeParadise Corner: **

**Hey everyone! Here's a longer chapter to make up for the long wait…just keep in mind that I only update whenever I can…which isn't very often. So please don't ask me to update soon. I'm already updating as soon as I can! XD **

**QUESTIONS FOR better writing:**

**Is the story confusing?**

**Are the characters ****O****ut ****O****f ****C****haracter? (that's for the readers that asked what OOC meant! XD)**

**Please review! I hope you guys liked the chapter!**


	3. The Band of Promise

**CCP: Hey there, and thanks for being patient, everyone. I just realized something—I might be better at writing Naruto fanfics than I am at writing Bleach fanfics…either that or Naruto fanfic readers tend to be more "active" than Bleach fanfic readers. **

**HEH-LO!!!! Wake up sleepyheads and start REVIEWING! XD **

**Shoutouts to certain lucky reviewers:**

**jazzjackrabbit:** lols, gee, you caught me! Ichigo and Orihime beig engaged in the first chapter was actually kinda a typo/mistake on my part. They're only boyfriend and girlfriend…till now! XD Read on and you'll find out what I mean.

**midnightgazer12:** Yipee! Yup, it IS "Chasing Cars" By Snow Patrol! (Chugs a bucket full of cookies at midnightgazer12) It's one of my favorite songs.

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

**Time Stands Still: Chapter 3**

**The Band of Promise, The Band of Friendship, The Band of Love**

…………………

_Ichigo stretched his arms above his head as he yawned sleepily. He had been working non-stop ever since his chat with Inoue. The copper-haired man glanced at the clock across the room. It was two fifteen. __Might as well grab a quick bite to eat…_

_Usagi-san grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and made his way outside. The lawyer let out a sigh of relief. It seemed so…refreshing to finally be out of the office. Across the street from where Ichigo was standing was a ramen cart. Because he didn't really feel like exploring the entire area, Usagi-san made his way over to the ramen cart where the owner, an old man with a long grey beard, was conning a petite black-haired girl into buying his ramen._

……………………

"I'm afraid I've forgotten…but I might remember if you buy a bowl of ramen!"

"…Okay!"

"Please. Don't tell me you actually _believe _him. The old man's trying to con you into buying his ramen, and you don't even realize it!"

Ruki whipped her head around and found herself face-to-face with an annoyed, but undoubtedly good-looking man with copper-colored hair and sharp, chiseled features.

"You fool—"

"—Why hello there, Usagi-san!" the ramen man's face broke into a genuine smile.

Kuwabara Ruki paused and gawked. _Usagi-san..?_ The rabbits that Ruki were familiar with had always been small, fuzzy, and cute. Apparently the man standing before her was of a different and unique species. The more time Rukia spent in the human world, the less familiar with it she felt.

Usagi-san turned away from the raven-haired girl and faced the old man.

"If I buy her a bowl of ramen, would you tell her that you were only joking around…?"

The small soul reaper gasped in genuine shock. The ramen man could only shrug and smile apologetically in response.

"So…what are you in the mood for…?" Usagi-san asked half-heartedly.

Ruki glared at the taller man. _This guy…_

"I'm in 'the mood' for you to leave me alone. Besides, I'm not even that hungry. I don't need your charity."

**GRRRRRRRRAAAAAAARRRR……**

Rukia's face turned a crimson red as she grabbed her stomach in a futile effort to silence it. Her stomach couldn't have chosen to growl at a worse time. The copper-haired man smirked cockily.

"Looks like your _stomach_ says otherwise. We'll have two bowls of miso ramen with no onions."

The petite shinigami eyed the handsome red-head incredulously. Of all the nerve…this man had the galling audacity to eavesdrop on her conversation with the old man and make a fool out of her. And yet…despite the arrogant air about his personality, there was something oddly comforting about his jerk-like behavior. Rukia paused and stopped herself when she realized what she was thinking. _Snap out of it, Rukia! There never is, never was, or never will be anything comforting about an arrogant jerk like this "Usagi-san." He gives a bad reputation to bunnies everywhere! _

Kuwabara Ruki growled silently in annoyance. "Jerk…"

……………………………………………………………

When the two bowls of ramen were done cooking, Usagi-san picked them up and strolled over to the nearby table without missing a beat. By the time he sat down, Rukia was too famished to remember how irritated she was at the copper-haired man earlier. For a while, Ichigo watched silently as the violet-eyed girl ate her ramen. There was an air about her that was vaguely familiar yet somewhat foreign. He tore his eyes away from her and started eating his food a while later; he didn't want a complete stranger to catch him staring—it'd be too weird and awkward.

"So… 'Usagi-san', was it?"

The lawyer merely nodded in response.

"Are you a new kind of rabbit…? You know, like a new _species_…or…"

Ichigo nearly choked on his ramen as he searched the stranger's face for traces of a smile—anything to show that she was joking. But all that Ichigo saw were two curiosity-filled eyes and a slightly parted mouth. It was then that he realized that the woman sitting next to him wasn't joking—she was _serious._ After taking a few moments to regain his composure, the puzzled lawyer cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.

"You're not from around here, are you…?"

Usagi-san wasn't very surprised when the girl shook her head in response. He let out a sigh before explaining to the girl, who in his opinion, clearly needed to get out a lot more.

"Usagi-san is just a nickname that the general public gave me…" The raven-haired girl slowly nodded. Ichigo let out an inward groan. _She doesn't get it…_

"…I'm a lawyer."

The petite woman's face lit up as she pounded her fist into her open palm. "Oh…I get it now! Yup! It all makes sense!"

The copper-haired man felt the sudden urge to slap himself. _She still doesn't get it…_

A few moments later, he felt a small pair of hands stuffing a bunch of coins into his hands.

"What's this…?" The puzzled man inquired.

"It's for the ramen." The woman replied.

"Look, it's okay. It's my treat…" Usagi-san tried to return the money, but the raven-haired woman beside him was a lot stronger than she looked. Effortlessly, she shoved the man's hand, which was still holding her money, right back at him.

"Please…" her eyes looked as if they were silently pleading for him to accept her money, "I don't like to owe anyone anything."

The handsome lawyer paused before slowly relenting. "But you _don't _owe me anything. I already told you that lunch is my treat. That means that _I_ pay."

For some odd reason, Ichigo didn't find the fact that he was stubbornly insisting on paying for a complete stranger's meal the least bit strange. Oddly enough, neither did Ruki. The young woman smiled understandingly, but stubbornly continued to shove her money into his hand.

"And I don't like to owe anyone anything. That means that _I_ pay. I don't need your charity, remember?"

Usagi-san allowed himself to smile a little. She was the second-most stubbourn female to have ever crossed paths with him. After finishing up their meal in silence, the friendly strangers got up simultaneously. In an act of rare amiability, Usagi-san offered to throw out the woman's tray for her. But his friendly gesture was dismissed by the nonchalant wave of her small hands.

"No thanks… I'm perfectly capable of cleaning up after myself."

The young man paused for the briefest moment. Her independence reminded him of someone he used to know…

"Hey Usagi-san!" the old ramen man's voice snapped the lawyer out of his thoughts. "Your girlfriend is about to leave!"

Ichigo picked up his tray with one hand and scratched the back of his head with the other.

"She's not my girlfriend." He replied evenly.

The ramen man smiled and winked suggestively at the lawyer. "Okay then. My apologies, Usagi-san."

Usagi-san rolled his eyes as he tossed out his trash. While he was doing this, the dark-haired beauty patiently waited by his side.

Ever since his Shinigami days as a young high schooler, Ichigo felt as if life had become increasingly routine. In a way, it was comforting to know what to expect the next day. Ultimately however, life after Rukia was tiresome and boring. But here before him stood a complete stranger. All she did was have lunch with him and yet…for some strange reason, Ichigo's day felt a lot less dull, and a lot more eventful. It's quite weird; life hardly ever makes sense.

After he was done cleaning off his tray, Usagi-san turned to face the stranger. "Thanks…"

The beautiful stranger shrugged her delicate shoulders and replied smugly. "Fool. There's nothing to thank me for."

"!!!"

The woman's response brought a rush of memories into Ichigo's mind.

………

"_Thanks, Rukia…you know, for everything…"_

"_Fool. There's nothing to thank me for." (See ch. 1)_

…………

The copper-haired man paused before speaking once more.

"I-I'm…" the lawyer cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm glad I met you…" Ichigo held his hand out to offer a handshake. "The name's Usagi-san…and you are…?"

The petite stranger grabbed his hand and firmly shook it. "Ruki. Kuwabara Ruki."

The two of them smiled at each other and remained motionless until the raven-haired woman turned around to leave.

Ichigo watched Ruki's retreating figure. _Kuwabara …Ruki…_

Ever since Rukia left, the part of Ichigo's life that she occupied left with her. But just now, for the briefest moment, Ichigo felt as if that empty part of his life was full once more.

The rest of Ichigo's day flew by fairly quickly. After his meeting, Usagi-san received a text message from Chad.

………

**Please pick up my necklace at 321 Jewelers and drop it off by the Police Station tomorrow morning. I was assigned night-duty last minute.**

………

The copper-haired man glanced at his watch. It was 7:55, and he was supposed to meet Inoue at 8. Usagi-san shrugged his shoulders. _I'm gonna be late if I help Sado out…but Inoue should understand. _

By the time Ichigo arrived at 321 Jewelers, it was 8:10.

"Excuse me sir, may I help you?"

The young lawyer turned to face a petite, elderly man wearing a toupee.

"Um…yes, I'm here to pick up a necklace for Mr. Sado?"

The elderly employee, seeing that it was 'Usagi-san' knew better than to ask for identification. "Certainly, I'll be back with Sado-san's necklace. It'll be just one moment. Wait right here, please."

While waiting, Ichigo paced around the store. He couldn't help but notice that a lot of the jewelry at 321 Jewelers was more suited for a woman than a man. Usagi-san had difficulty picturing his macho friend shopping for jewelry there. As he headed back to where the employee told him to wait, a small ring caught his eye. The copper-haired man stared at the ring through its glass case. The ring had a small, golden band, and was decorated with three small diamonds designed to look like a string of bubbles. It was _beautiful…_and upon closer inspection, Ichigo realized that it was on sale.

"There you are, Usagi-san—"

"—How much is this ring right here…?" Ichigo interrupted.

The employee glanced at the ring that the young lawyer was pointing at. "It _was_ 650000 yen, but the price has been marked down to 520000 yen." The toupee wearing man pulled the ring out of the glass case and gave it to Usagi-san to examine.

"…It's quite a deal, isn't it…? You cant find better craftsmanship anywhere else—"

"—I'll take it." The copper-haired man replied. The employee smiled as he began to box the ring.

"Am I right in guessing that this ring is for the lucky lady in your life…?"

Usagi-san shrugged indifferently and watched as the old worker rang up his purchase.

……………………………………

_**Meanwhile at the Melting Pot Restaurant…**_

Orihime sat patiently at the table while she waited for Ichigo to arrive. It was already 8:30, and she had gone through two glasses of water. The chestnut-haired beauty leaned back in her chair and sighed. She had tried calling Ichigo several times, but his phone had been turned off. What was taking him so long? Had she just been 'stood up'? The voluptuous woman shook off the thought as she whipped out her cell phone and decided to try calling her boyfriend once more. But before she had a chance to start dialing, someone placed their hand over hers and her cell phone.

"Sorry I'm late."

Orihime smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Kurosaki-kun! I was worried about you!"

Her copper-haired partner smirked knowingly. "I know," He pulled out his phone, "28 missed calls."

The 25-year old woman blushed. She couldn't help it. She was a worried woman in love. It was just that simple.

Ichigo looked at the empty table. "Why didn't you order anything, Inoue-san…?"

Said woman looked away shyly. "Well, Kurosaki-kun…I didn't want to order anything without you, so I thought I'd wait…" Ichigo couldn't help but think that had it been Ruki that was waiting for him, she would have already ordered.

The lawyer smiled apologetically. "Then you must be hungry."

"I'm fine, Kurosaki-kun…"

**GGGRRRRRAAAARRRRr…..**

The chestnut-haired beauty blushed with embarrassment as she clutched her flat stomach. Ichigo chuckled softly as he handed his girlfriend a menu. It was almost like his previous meal…

"You should probably order some food now that I'm here."

…the only thing different was the girl that he was with.

After the waiter had finished taking their order, Inoue turned to face Ichigo.

"So…Kurosaki-kun…why were you so late…?"

The man instantly remembered his purchase at the jewelry store.

"Chad needed me to pick something up for him at the jewelry store…it turned out that the necklace that he's always wearing broke, so he had to take it there to get fixed."

Ichigo watched as Inoue nodded understandingly. "You're always so kind, Kurosaki-kun…"

Usagi-san was slightly confused by Inoue's comment. "Really? It's really no big deal. Chad's a friend, that's all."

"…"

The copper-haired man began digging in his pockets. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot…I got you something while I was picking up Chad's necklace…"

When he finally found what he was looking for, Usagi-san placed the tiny black box in front of his significant other. Orihime initially eyed the black box with curiosity, but after opening it up, she was blushing from her chestnut-colored head to her perfectly manicured toes. Was this supposed to be some sort of proposal? Inoue glanced back at the box. Yup, there was no doubt about it. There was a diamond ring in that box, and usually diamond rings can only mean one thing.

"Kurosaki-kun…?"

Orihime glanced up at her boyfriend. Unfortunately, he didn't look as nervous or as bashful as someone proposing ought to look. He just looked… blank… expressionless… _indifferent._ But Inoue couldn't tell Kurosaki-kun that he _sucked_ at proposing, not after dreaming and waiting so long for this to finally happen! So what if it wasn't as romantic or thoughtful as she had dreamed…? The fact was that _her_ Kurosaki-kun had given her a diamond ring! But still…Tatsuki _had_ been getting at her for being overly submissive around Ichigo…

The chestnut-haired beauty closed the box and shyly pushed it back towards Ichigo. The copper-haired man looked slightly shocked to see Orihime returning his present.

"You don't like it…?"

The pretty woman blushed a crimson red.

"I-It's not that Kurosaki-kun, it's just…"

"Just…?"

Inoue gulped nervously.

"Shouldn't you get down on one knee and you know…_ask_ me? You know, like they do in those movies…?"

Ichigo let out a sigh. He didn't blame Inoue for reacting the way she did, but he honestly never saw himself kneeling for _anyone_ when he 'proposed'…if you could even call what he was doing a proposal… It wasn't in his character to do something like that. Never was, and never will be.

Usagi-san shrugged his shoulders. He never really planned on proposing, anyway. It just sort of happened after he saw the ring at the store.

"If you don't want it, I can always return it." Ichigo reached for the box, but was quickly stopped by Orihime.

"It's okay, Kurosaki-kun. I'll wear it!"

Ichigo smirked as he watched the chestnut-haired beauty slip on the ring. He could tell just by looking that the ring was a little snug on Orihime's finger.

"Is it too small?"

"N-No, it's fine, Kurosaki-kun, it's just that usually a woman's fingers expand when it's warm. This ring should fit perfectly by the time it's winter!"

Being a male, Ichigo was clueless about jewelry, and he clearly had no idea what Orihime was talking about.

"I can always get the ring resized for you…"

"It's okay, Kurosaki-kun. I'm fine! It fits, see…?"

Ichigo looked at the delicate ring on Inoue's finger. It didn't take much brain power for him to realize that the ring was simply too small for his girlfriend, but seeing that she was so determined to prove to him that it fit, Ichigo decided to just let things be. It was a beautiful ring, and he knew that he wanted the person he married to wear it…

…But there's always no guarantee that the person you are currently seeing is the person that you will be marrying. Your current lover might not be the right person to wear your ring….. Then again, they might be. You never know…

…**To be continued…**

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

**ComeComeParadise Corner:**

**Chapter 3 is finally done! If any of you guys are wondering how Ichigo and Orihime went from engaged to Boyfriend/Girlfriend and then engaged again, well…it's simple really. I messed up in Chapter one! But hey, it only shows that I'm a human and that I'm not perfect, right? XD They were supposed to be boyfriend/girlfriend in ch. 1-2 and then engaged in this chapter.**

**To everybody worried about the Ichihime content: DON'T WORRY!!! THIS IS AN ICHIRUKI FIC, ****NOT**** ICHIHIME. If you compare/and contrast Ichigo's behavior towards Orihime to his behavior towards Rukia, in this chapter, and in later ones, you'll notice a HUGE difference. Besides…I have nothing against Ichihime…I'd just rather not see it happen in the manga because I feel as if Orihime holds back whenever she's around Ichigo. I prefer Ichiruki because they are equals, and because they have this chemistry and dynamic that I **_**adore.**_

**Please remember to REVIEW, and remember that I don't accept flames, but I WILL accept constructive criticism. **


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